Hitman_Spinksy1's Backlog of mayhem!!!

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

 

 

The reason this is a backlog of mayhem is because I have way too many games in my backlog. Some I wish I never started and others I forgot about. My goal is to go through my backlog, getting as many plats as I possibly can and boosting up my percentage. I tend to buy games way to often (thank you sales and wishlist) and then forget them or play them for a couple minutes so with that I have changed my gaming habits and plan on clearing as much as I can from my list and I thought of writing down my opinions to help others decide whether that game is for them. 

 

I am a massive Final Fantasy fan and plan on completing all of them in the end and also a FIFA fan which has dragged down my completion percentage quite a bit. My gaming habits have changed into doing more games I want to instead of grinding through a game that puts me to sleep just because I can finish it. 

 

I have been gaming since I can remember and grew up on the mastersystem and have been really blessed when it comes to gaming having experienced the likes of mega drive, snes, playstation 1 to 5, N64, gamecube, gba, nds, switch just to name a few and seen how gaming has evolved. Some of it for the best and some not so great but I feel like I'm a fairly experienced gamer by now. 

 

The trophy hunting bug didnt hit me to begin with like it did with some people. My first platinum being Infamous and even though I went out my way to get it I wasn't hooked or obsessed about it. I just did it because I could. Then when Skyrim came out I would say I got hooked. The game was a masterpiece and I played the hell out of it, ending up with my PS3's demise. I still hunted trophies differently then but I would attempt to at least go for them and they would be in my mind when gaming. Nowadays I hunt completely differently though and think more about my completion and if I can finish a game or will I find it interesting enough to bother starting before talking myself out of it and reminding myself I have more than enough games I've paid for that I should probably play first and that's where the idea of starting this thread up.

So on with the trophies and hopefully some valuable insights into games I've finished 

 

Game in progress!

 

 

 

Top 10 games of all time 

I'll be adding games of different series otherwise it would probably end up as mainly Pokemon and Final Fantasy games as my top 10

1. Pokemon Ruby 

I just loved this game so much and spent countless hours on it. I'd played all previous Pokemon games but something about this one just made it the best game ever and I remember having a guide book I took with me everywhere also on where to catch everything and loads of secrets etc. Just a very nostalgic game.

2. Ghost of Tsushima 

Best game I have played but impossible to rank above Pokemon unfortunately for nostalgic reasons. This game is truly breathtaking and the story is so solid. I was hooked from the moment I started playing and couldn't put it down for a second. I was really surprised how much I loved it as I'm not into samurai games usually and only picked it up after hearing how amazing it was from everyone. This is a game that has changed my life, makes me appreciate what I have and to be a calmer and more peaceful person. 

3. Tales of Arise

A newer game on the list but this game took me completely by surprise. I was in a slump on what to play and bought this on a whim but my god what a game it turned out to be. It was very slow at the start with a lot of cut scenes and I wondered what the hell have I just bought but I'm glad I stuck with it because it made me realise why I loved gaming so much and pulled me out of my slumps and back into gaming and trophies. Only playing Tales of Berseria previously it took a while to realise it was of that series but now I intend to play them all in the future. 

4. FFXII 

Unpopular opinion and extremely close between this FFX and FFVII Remake, also an unpopular opinion. 12 just did something for me and had the perfect balance between exploration, grind and story. It's also one of the first Final Fantasy games I'd played alongside FFX so I missed the hype over the original FFVII and by the time I got to it the gameplay and graphics were a bit dated but still a great game nonetheless. 

5. Gran Turismo 3 

My favourite racing game ever and probably because it had progression. Starting out with a really bad car and working your way up through the events, licenses, needing random cars for FF, MR, FR etc cups and the random prizes from certain events just added to the thrill. I've played other Gran Turismos but they just don't have the same feel to them and have gone a different path focusing a lot more on online play and being able to have supercars in a day. 

6. God of War 2018 

I really loved this game, the story it told and the new serious Kratos. The combat was refined and I felt myself getting hyped at parts for example when he took out his chains I was like oh shit now it's a whole new game. 

7. Jade Cacoon 

A game I'm really hoping will one day find it's way to PS Plus though I do highly doubt it with the slow rate of classics being added. I remember playing the demo and it was a fairly long demo as they were back in the day and I was hooked, desperate to play the full game and I finally did though never completed it. It just had that Pokemon feel combined with a more mature RPG on catching monsters and combining them in anyway you choose and I was always hyped to see what the outcome would be and all the different possible combinations. 

8. Tony Hawk's Underground

This was my favourite in the series growing up and I remember how ground breaking it seemed to be when you could walk and combine it with tricks to continue into some insane combinations and it also had a story that went with it though Eric was so annoying that you just wanted to punch him all the time. 

9. Skyrim 

Another game I randomly got into as I picked up Oblivion randomly from a second hand game shop because it was super cheap and I liked it so much that I just had to get Skyrim day 1. Even with all the bugs and glitches they really took open world RPG to a new level and I played this so much I burnt out my ps3, probably due to them loading screens going in and out of a shop a 100 times because you forgot something. But there was just an endless amount to do in this game and a reason why it keeps getting remade a million times 

10. Batman: Arkham Knight

I just love Batman so much and with being able to drive the batmobile just made it even more epic. Some of the riddles were a bit tedious and there was way too many but all in all still a strong favourite. 

11. Mortal Kombat X 

We all have that favourite fighting game we grew up with whether it be Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter and for me it was Mortal Kombat. I prefer 10 over 11 just because it feels more fluid and less complicated but it is still tough to choose. I would love one with the roster size of Armageddon again but unfortunately with DLC a thing that will never happen without paying a lot for additional characters. That one would have beaten X if not for the 3D style and weapon switching which I wasn't a big fan of. 

 

Completed Games 

Spoiler

1-10

 

11-20

 

21-30

 

31-40

 

41-50

 

51-60

 

61-70

 

71-80

 

81-90

 

91-100

 

101-110

111-120

121-130

131-140

141-150

 

PS3 Backlog 

Spoiler

Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk (5%) 

Batman Arkham Origins (7%)

Borderlands (9%)

Borderlands 2 (2%)

Fallout 3 (4%) 

Fallout: New Vegas (7%) 

Final Fantasy XIII-2 (0%)

inFamous: Festival of Blood (57%) 

Injustice: Gods Among Us (55%) 

LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (2%) 

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (56%)

Red Dead Redemption (1%) 

Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse Episode 1 (9%) 

PS4 Backlog 

Spoiler

A King's Tale: Final Fantasy XV (61%) 

Alienation (18%) 

Batman Arkham Asylum PS4 (11%)

Battlefield 1 (1%) 

Beyond: Two Souls (21%)

Bioshock 2 (2%)

Bioshock Infinite (1%) 

Borderlands 2 (2%)

Bravo Team (4%)

Broken Age (44%) 

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (42%)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2%)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (33%)

Call of Duty WWII (2%) 

Children of Morta (29%) 

Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon (1%)

Control (37%) 

Dark Souls Remastered (5%)

Darksiders 2 (5%)

Darksiders 3 (1%)

Days Gone (5%)

Destiny (54%)

Destiny 2 (78%)

Detroit: Become Human (82%)

Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls (19%)

Digimon World: Next Order (14%)

Dirt 4 (21%) 

Dirt Rally (6%)

Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance (8%) 

Dragon Age: Inquisition (25%) 

Fallout 76 (19%)

Fallout Shelter (3%) 

Farpoint (3%) 

FIFA 16 (71%)

FIFA 17 (28%) 

FIFA 19 (63%)

FIFA 21 (5%) 

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (4%) 

Final Fantasy IX (1%)

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD (0%) 

Final Fantasy VIII (10%) 

Furi (21%) 

Gauntlet (13%) 

Gran Turismo Sport (57%) 

Grand Theft Auto V (41%) 

Guns Up! (33%)

Helldivers (18%) 

Hollowknight (2%)  

It Takes Two (37%)  

Jurassic World Evolution (25%) 

Just Cause 3 (1%)

Just Cause 4 (1%)

Killing Floor 2 (1%) 

King's Quest (30%) 

Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning (1%)

Knack (41%) 

Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris (70%) 

Letter Quest (9%)

Limbo (9%)

Lords of the Fallen (9%)

Mafia 2 (52%) 

Magicka 2 (1%) 

Marvel's Avengers (23%)

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (14%)

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (4%)

Middle-earth: Shadow of War (21%) 

Monster Hunter World (71%)

Mortal Shell (1%)

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered (4%)

Neon Chrome (21%) 

Nioh (1%) 

Nova-111 (20%)  

Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty (7%) 

OlliOlli2 (31%) 

Overcooked 2 (6%)

Overcooked! All You Can Eat (10%)

Persona 5 (2%) 

PixelJunk Nom Nom Galaxy (1%) 

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 (7%) 

Playstation VR Worlds (33%) 

Portal Knights (6%) 

Race The Sun (19%)

Red Dead Redemption 2 (8%)

Remnant: From The Ashes (3%) 

Resident Evil (37%) 

Resident Evil 6 (7%) 

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (4%)

Resident Evil Revelations 2 (7%) 

Rise of the Tomb Raider (80%)

Shadow of the Colossus (2%)

Skulls of the Shogun (76%) 

Sky Force Anniversary (33%) 

Smite (7%) 

Sonic Mania (9%) 

Sparkle 2 (23%) 

Spy Chameleon (2%)

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness (1%)

Starwhal (10%)

Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones (5%) 

Steep (12%) 

Street Fighter V (30%)

Styx: Master of Shadows (3%) 

Subnautica (10%)

Super Exploding Zoo (25%)

Super Meat Boy (2%)

Super Stardust Ultra (45%)

Super Time Force Ultra (28%)

Tales of Berseria (4%) 

Tales of Vesperia (0%) 

Tales of Zestiria (0%) 

Tennis World Tour 2 (5%)

Tera (25%)

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR (8%) 

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Game of the Year Edition (7%)

Tiny Troopers Joint Ops (10%) 

Titan Souls (48%) 

Titanfall 2 (2%) 

Worms W.M.D. (39%) 

Yakuza Kiwami (1%)

Zombie Army 4: Dead War 

PS5 Backlog 

Spoiler

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (9%)

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (7%)

Demon's Souls (72%) 

Destiny 2 (78%)

Diablo 2: Resurrected (4%)

FIFA 21 (39%) 

FIFA 22 (46%)

Returnal (13%) 

Sackboy: A Big Adventure (14%) 

Subnautica (10%)

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 (71%)

Warhammer: Chaosbane (7%)

Worms Rumble (1%) 

DLC Backlog 

Spoiler

Amnesia Collection (97%) 

Horizon Zero Dawn (96%) 

Horizon Forbidden West (95%) 

Worms Battlegrounds (96%) 

Concrete Genie (95%) 

Need for Speed (94%) 

Need for Speed Payback (93%) 

Ark: Survival Evolved (92%) 

Batman: Arkham Knight (91%) 

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Remastered (88%) 

Table Top Racing: World Tour (88%) 

Brawlhalla (86%) 

Bloodborne (85%) 

Horizon Chase Turbo (85%) 

PixelJunk Monsters 2 (84%) 

BioShock (84%) 

Final Fantasy VII Remake (84%) 

LittleBigPlanet 3 (84%)  

Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (83%) 

Final Fantasy XV (80%) 

Ni no Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom (73%) 

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins (72%) 

Fallout 4 (66%) 

Rocket League (64%) 

Marvel's Spider-Man (62%) 

Dirt Rally 2.0 (62%) 

Dirt 5 (60%) 

Goat Simulator (57%) 

Borderlands 3 (48%)  

 

PS Plus Deluxe Planned Games 

Spoiler

Assassins's Creed Unity 

Assassin's Creed 3 Remastered 

Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered

Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Atelier Escha & Logy ~Alchemists of the Dusk Sky~

Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland

Atelier Shallie ~Alchemists of the Dusk Sea~

Borderlands: The Handsome Collection

Bugsnax

Chorus

Dark Cloud

Dark Chronicle

Darksiders Genesis

Darksiders Warmastered Edition

Death Stranding

Disgaea 3 

Disgaea 4

Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness

DOOM

Dragon Quest Builders

Dragon Quest Builders 2

Dragon Quest Heroes II: Explorer’s Edition

Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and Blight Below

Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age Definitive Edition

Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon: Classic Edition

Far Cry 3: Classic Edition

Far Cry 4

God of War HD

God of War II HD

God of War: Ascension

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City The Definitive Edition 

Gravity Rush 2

Gravity Rush Remastered

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue 

Kingdom Hearts 3

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

MediEvil

Metro 2033 Redux

Metro: Last Light Redux

Nioh 2 Remastered

Oddworld: Soulstorm – Enhanced Edition

Rainbow Moon

Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty

Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault

Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus

Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando

Ratchet and Clank: Deadlocked

Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

Rogue Galaxy

South Park The Fractured But Whole

Trials of Mana

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

White Knight Chronicles

Wild Arms

Wild Arms 3

Yakuza 0

Yakuza 3 Remastered

Yakuza 4 Remastered

Yakuza 5 Remastered

Yakuza Kiwami 2 

Ys IX: Monstrum Nox

 

If anyone sees a game not on my current backlog but think's I'm missing out and is on my profile then feel free to recommend it. I also have a lot of games not started and not on my profile also that may get added so this is just a rough sketch of the games I've already started that I plan on finishing in the near future 

Edited October 18, 2023 by Hitman_Spinksy1

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

107

The Bear and the Wolf

God of War: Ragnarok

It's finally done, and I'll be putting my thoughts about the game in a spoiler which will contain many spoilers. 

Spoiler

What can I say about the game. I'm so 50/50 about it. There were definitely points where I really loved it but then some points were just a real slog to get through. 

 

Story

The story for the most part was solid. I felt engaged and it was really well written. There were however parts that dragged on including the infamous Angroboda part which was far too long and didn't fit so well with the plot. But the story didn't feel rushed at all like some games you get to the end, and it feels like all of a sudden, they need to wrap everything up quickly and it don't make sense. This didn't happen here and even if the future was easily foreseeable it still contained some twists along the way which I'll refrain from naming all of, but I'm still upset about Brok dying and Sindri now hating us. 

Side Missions 

The side missions were tiresome, your same old kill all ravens, get all apples/horns and there was a lot of backtracking. Killing the berserkers was just a standard mini-boss fight with no real tactics or skill involved including the final king and lacked the impact the Valkyries had in the 2018 one. I would have liked to have seen more meaningful side missions that related to the story more with the only one I can think of is the Brok funeral which gave me feels and finding the real Tyr or is he which was a complete surprise. The raven boss after killing all ravens was a nice touch but again, fairly simple and just a normal mob upgraded to a mini boss. The crucible was a slog I remember having the repeat the same challenges in a certain order to unlock a new challenge and it just got repetitive quickly. All in all the cleanup wasn't too long but a lot was running around figuring out puzzles and collecting stuff. 

The bad stuff

I'm sure a lot of people have already brought this up in other posts but Mimir and Freya just need to be quiet more. They never stop talking and it's always the same stuff. Telling me how to solve puzzles as soon as I get there like I need to hurry up, telling me when I'm on fire or bifrost, thanks I can see that myself as you also state. It's just really frustrating and brings the game down a lot. Especially in post game when you're just running around cleaning stuff up and they say things like "you should go to the pond" "are you going to the pond brother" "another crystal you have a lot, maybe take a visit to the pond" "cleaning them crystals for the pond brother" I found myself saying shut up way too much and getting truly frustrated over repetitive lines more than anything. 

The good stuff

The story was solid, the graphics was amazing, the combat was for the most part smooth apart from parrying which I never did in the end and I liked how they tried new things, even if it didn't always worked. I liked the sleds as a mode of transport and would have liked more and I also liked playing as Atreus but maybe a little bit less of him would have been the perfect balance and used him more as just pushing the story forward than all this combat and I still can't figure out the bear/wolf transformation and why it changes but maybe I missed something. It was still nice though

Graphics

The graphics of the game are truly outstanding and even through the post game I felt immersed and helped prolong the games staying power through the post game. The only bad thing I can say is that the game has to run on performance high fps because it is juttery in graphics mode which I like to play in sometimes if it's single player and there is no noticeable frame drop. 

 

All in all I'd rate the game a 7/10 and if it wern't for Mimir and Freya repeating themselves would have probably given a 9/10 but it just frustrated me way too much 

Difficulty maybe a 3/10. It really isn't a hard game and even the Valkyrie queen was a lot easier than Sigrun by the end of the game. All other bosses were fairly standard in difficulty. 

 

Recommended 

Edited November 29, 2022 by Hitman_Spinksy1

[Billie__227]

I'm a bit late to this post but, welcome to the checklist part of the forums! It's always nice to see new faces. You've got some impressive completions! And also some games in your backlog that I need to finish as well. Looking forward to reading your thoughts on them :3 

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

Thanks  the backlog has definitely grown a bit out of control so hopefully I can use this as a checklist and reminder on what I want to play and also remember some of the games I've really enjoyed 

[DrBloodmoney]

Man - welcome to the the fun / noose around the neck (depending on the time of day / perspective) that is the checklists! ?

 

 

You got some great games both in the completed, and in the backlog sections, and I can feel the game enthusiasm dripping off that first post - already looking forward to following along with this one!

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

 108

Masters of the Multiverse

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

 

Wow, what can I say about this game. This really blew me away and left me happily surprised. I like the Ratchet & Clank series but this one really pushed the boundaries in every single way. The graphics were pristine, the platforming was amazing, and the combat was fun. They really showed what the PS5 can do and what to expect from future next gen games once cross gen becomes a thing of the past. The game was a little short for the £60 price tag and happy I picked this up in the sale, but I think the game was still the perfect length and avoided dragging on and getting boring. If it had been any longer it would have ended up containing them annoying trophies like getting 1m bolts, upgrading all weapons, all gold bolts etc. 

The story was actually engaging, had twists and was so much more than whooping Dr Nefarious for the thousandth time. I felt hooked and wasn't just playing through the game to get to the next boss. There was a meaning this time. 

The collectibles weren't overbearing, and a lot of trophies popped from gameplay. I maybe spent an hour cleaning up the rest in the end.

I'd rate the game 10/10 and really can't fault anything about it.

Difficulty is 2/10, really easy and a very refreshing break from grindy, hard games. 

 

Highly Recommended though on a discount. £60 is a very steep price for a game that takes 1-2 days to complete and plat 

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

 109 

A Sonic Hero

Sonic Forces

 

What can I say apart from the worst Sonic game I've ever played by a long shot. It's such a grind right from the start going through 30 missions plus the extra missions after, then the need to replay for the red rings, number rings and moon rings, plus replaying for all the challenges missed for example the speed challenges. Every trophy is grindy locked behind leveling up every avatar, unlocking all wisps, completing all challenges and unlocking all items. If that wasn't enough, you need to grind out 100k rings which killed what was already a really poor game. I don't understand the avatar gimmick or the point apart from extra unnecessary grinding. Why I need to grind out all different types of avatars is a mystery and it's not quickly done either. In the end I had to manipulate the date to unlock the bonus exp for it to be do able. They have zero meaning to the story apart from occasionally Sonic disappears and it's up to the "rookie" that no one ever believes in though no one else seems all too busy to help but instead wants to keep putting the rookie down but they all jump to help their favourite blue hedgehog whose ego is so big he can do everything by himself.

They even managed to ruin the classic Sonic levels through bad controls where you go from barely moving to flying at sonic speed making precise jumps frustrating. These controls run through the entire game where they are unresponsive, flying off the map when using Sonic boost, homing attacks not registering. 

The voices are just irritating, and Sonic should just go back to the quiet hedgehog instead of commenting on every single thing he sees, does and thinks. 

I have zero positive things to say about this game and is a prime example on how Sega went from dominating the gaming franchise to being unable to put out a decent game that made their franchise to begin with. 

 

1/10 rating for this game easily 

4/10 difficulty, just because of the speed challenges but could be a 3/10. The ultra-rare is not because of difficulty but because of the world's longest grind in an awful game.

 

Not recommended 

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

 110

All Trophies Obtained 

Horizon Forbidden West 

 

Story

The story is unfortunately weaker than its predecessor in my opinion. A rot taking over the world, killing everything and Alloys mission is to find the cause and stop it. Not much more is given to the story at the start and the twists just didn't work for me. Sylens is working towards the same thing but acts like he's against Alloy without any real reasoning apart from Alloy being too rash. It was just a weak set up to drag out a plot that made little sense. The companions appear from nowhere without real reason to them being there apart from Alloy needing an army to help take down the Zeniths and it's hard to feel invested with any of them when they are all pretty annoying and Alloy herself isn't invested. Varl dies, do a short mission and then he's never mentioned again. They are just all too easily convinced to join your expedition to save the world and probably die trying. Even Regalla who's been trying to kill you and every Tenakth from the start of the game was just like ok you beat me so I'll join you. 

 It doesn't have that same impact as that Nora girl who was shunned from the tribe, lost her father figure and was hated amongst other Nora but still found it in her to save everyone and go against all odds.

Visuals

Amazing graphics in a bang average game unfortunately. I guess I'll start with the positives and that is that the graphics were just mind blowing. From footprints in the sand, swimming in the water, shielding her eyes from the sun, it had it all. The variety of scenery was amazing. There were the snowy mountains, the sand swept deserts, the vibrant beaches, luscious jungles and every part of the map was different, filled with extreme detail and it felt fresh to play. The voice acting felt a little stiff this time around unfortunately though the facial movements and lip syncing was spot on. The cut scenes were spectacular and was like watching a movie at times. I'd say it's even graphically better than Ragnarok though it's hard to compare them when Horizon definitely has a lot more pop in the colour palette and makes things stand out more. 

Gameplay

The side missions were plentiful and all different, they felt rewarding and never dragged the game down even with the many different types from gauntlet runs, camp outposts, hunting lodges, ruins, arenas, melee pits, side missions with more in depth dialogue, flying mount missions, the list goes on but it never once felt overbearing because completing anywhere near all of them wasn't necessary for the platinum.

 The machines were far more varied from flying machines, big machines, small ones, ones that swam and it felt nice that I didn't fight the same thing over and over again. As to the actual fighting it felt clunky at times on higher difficulties where you could get stun locked between multiple machines, Alloy taking forever getting up and even dodging one attack may not give another space or time to dodge a follow up so the timing of Iframes felt a bit pointless. One of the most annoying was loading up the cross bolt and getting hit when about to use a burst shot makes your whole mag disappear without firing a single bolt. Also combat made using the spear near pointless and was overly complicated with hundreds of different combinations so I just stuck with headshots and stealth for the most part.

 The platforming left a lot to be desired which is unfortunate as it makes up a big chunk of the game and it was slow, clunky, jumps would be missed and it had an AC style parkour system just slowed down a bit too much to make it work properly. It lacked that fluid motion where you could go from one spot to the other and some gaps required jumping, others she would jump automatically, even if the distance was the same and I just felt it was a mess with the accessibility options the only thing saving it from complete failure because sure, in cauldrons and such you can see clearly with yellow marked objects what you can climb but mountains and the like was impossible so it was a game of mashing R3 to look for resources, loot and also where you could climb.    

 The variation in the game felt refreshing with the shield wing, mounts, flying mounts, different items for puzzles later in the game. It introduced the new additions in a fluid way where by the time you was ready for something was around the time you unlocked something new with the flying mount being a gamechanger of exploring the map though it did allow to cheat some things for example the tall necks I could just fly up but avoiding any kind of platforming is just a big plus. 

 I also noticed a new trend following Sony games after playing 3 in a row and that's the handholding and telling me everything little thing I need to do at all times which gets annoying when it can get repeated 2-3 times whilst you're on your way to doing said thing. Hopefully this trend doesn't last long.

 

The story was lack lusting, the combat was clunky and the platforming slow and annoying.

I still had fun with the game though but it wasn't as good as expected. 

 

Fun 7/10 

Difficulty 3/10

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

 111

My Living Legacy 

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion

 

Come on man! That's exactly how I felt when playing this game. This is easily top 5 worst games I've ever played, worst Final Fantasy game ever played and possibly even the worst game full stop. I felt myself constantly wondering if I'd ever played a game as bad as this without coming up with an answer. 

What does a game need? Bad Rng? Check! Grindy? Check! Repetitive? Double Check!

The Good

I'll get the good stuff out of the way first because that's easier. The summons looked nice, that's pretty much it. 

The Bad

There's so much that just really got to me with this game that I don't even know where to start. I don't understand how they can take the concept from the Final Fantasy VII Remake and just completely butcher it. This is a game designed for both PS5 and PS4 and still looks worse than the Remake that originally only came out on the PS4. It's the same few maps and scenery throughout the game, the camera is awful during battle constantly unlocking from enemies and getting spun around, the 300 missions of rinse and repeat, running around the border of the map to avoid enemies every 2 seconds, hovering when walking, the same noise when walking no matter what you're walking on, the grass doesn't even move when walking through it. My biggest gripe though is how a massive game developer ships out a dub version to get it out quicker because 35 games in a year isn't enough. The game just lacks any passion as previous games and it hurts when Final Fantasy has been my favorite series for the better part of a decade. 

I never played the original version and I understand it came out on PSP which I'm sure worked fine back in the day but when we get mindblowing games like the colours from Forbidden West, Ragnarok, filled with detail from footprints to guarding your face from the sun and we are meant to accept a dubbed, floaty repetitive mapped game with 300 missions as filler then I cant. I even played on hard all the way up until the Sephiroth fight when he's coming closer and it was just impossible to deal enough damage before him knocking me off the edge and I was forced to lower the difficulty which really frustrated me. I would have been fine if it was skill that I lacked but because I couldn't deal enough damage, missed some gear or whatever just made it really annoying. It destroyed all my hype for 16 though I'll probably get it but if it does anything less than blow my mind then it will unfortunately be the end of the road for me and Square. 

Story 
 I didn't really understand the story all to well or what it was meant to be telling me until chapter 8ish. Then it starts getting into details over how Cloud became a super soldier, how sephiroth became evil, how all of Clouds thoughts and experiences were actually Zacks after the Mako poisoning. Before all this it was just about the war with Wutai, the other first soldiers, how Zack became first and just a lot of pointless filler as if it was trying to give everyone a back story but overloaded and failed. Maybe I missed something or didn't pay close enough attention through my pain but I didn't like the story until it was basically over
Trophies

A really horrible trophy list where basically everything is missable and you need a guide from the start. I missed 1 mail sender and had to burn through the entire game because of no chapter select and get all mails again because they don't carry over just for that 1 mail I missed previously. I had saves for every chapter because of the missables but that couldn't save me from this fate even. I'm just happy the pain is over.

 

Difficulty: 3/10 

Fun: 1/10 

Recommend: No

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

 112 

Platinum Trophy

Mortal Kombat X

 

A truly amazing game and my favourite fighting franchise. I remember playing it on the Genesis some 20+ years ago, trying the figure out how to do the fatalities, the uppercut down the pit being a classic one and they kept true to the basics of the original characters, their catchphrases and their personalities. Some things didn't quite go so well along the franchises path but this one hits all the fundamentals and what the game is all about. Blood, gore, creativity and a little humour. It has a strong mixture of characters even if I dislike this locking characters behind paid DLC. I still dream of another mega roster like Deadly Alliance but I think that's just a dream. 

I'm not sure what to say about the story mode as it took me 6 years to plat the game so it's definitely gone from memory but I remember the stories being fairly strong even if most of the time it revolves around saving Earthrealm but they build on the characters so well, give them personalities and build on their backstory which makes it more than a straight fighting game. 

The graphics and game still hold up even now after all this time and with 11 being out for some time as well. The X-Rays were a nice addition for extra violence but they were a little over exaggerated and long animations but still good when you need to get out of a tight spot. I didn't explore the fatalities and brutalities a great deal but the ones I did looked amazing and very inventive but again they were extremely long animations which didn't make it worth it once you'd already seen it. 

 The trophies, oh god the trophies were such a grind which I had the persevere with over a long 6 years of putting on my backlog constantly but I'm happy to say I got it with a few thousand matches in 2-player to speed things up. It says I done it in 94 hours which I find hard to believe with the amount of grindy trophies there are from leveling every faction to 50, leveling yourself to 65 which was an extreme grind and to find 50 modifiers which basically only appear in towers that show up every hour and you need to hope you haven't done that tower before. 

I still had a lot of fun with the game but the trophies did try to kill that fun and it would have been a lot less fun and more of a chore if I did it all in one go. 

 

Enjoyment 8/10

Recommend? Yes if not going for trophies, otherwise be prepared for a very long grind 

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

 113

The End 

Immortals Fenyx Rising 

 

Wow this game was so rough to slog through in the end. It took me 38 hours in total to finish in which the story took around 15 hours. Another collectathon from Ubisoft which really ruined what could have been a decent game. 

Many times I thought, today is the day I finish it to get hit with even more grind and everything taking so much longer than it should have. 

The story 
The story was decent for the most part and the narrating angle was nice. I love Greek mythology and that's what peeked my interest initially. It wasn't too serious with quite a few jokes and the characters were half decent, even if some could have done with better voice acting, especially Fenyx and Aphrodite who were just awful. 
The story starts out with everyone getting turned to stone apart from a nobody who ends up being a Demi-God himself and his brother who is supposedly some hero who winds up being an actual coward. They end up working for opposite sides until Fenyx finds out his brother isn't actually stone and what his plans are so like any good brother would do, pummels him until he cries. 
The story moves at a good pace the whole way through, revealing stories of the gods as Fenyx rescues them and also Zeus's side of the coin and the things he has done to them. 
It attempts to touch on some feelings where Zeus ends up feeling guilty for being a horrible father but it fails through all the jokes and banter along the way to succeed in any emotional attachment.

The graphics 

The game is truly magnificent to look at and gives off strong Zelda windwaker/Breath of the Wild vibes. The colours pop and are vibrant with a lot of different landscapes to snowy mountains and sandy deserts. The water is also truly amazing and even though the graphics are on the anime side, it has one of the best water details ever, especially when diving under water and the sounds actually sound like real water. The graphics are definitely 10/10 and suit this style of game perfectly. 

The mechanics 

The game falls short a lot here with the mechanics on a lot of different levels. Traversing around the map is a chore which is a shame for such a gorgeous game. The biggest pain is climbing in where Fenyx struggles so badly to climb anything and it takes an age and believe me, there's a lot of climbing involved to clean this game up. In the end I did anything to avoid climbing another wall of building.
The flying is decent though it's more gliding until running out of stamina but you can glide pretty far once you've leveled up the stamina a bit. The disappointing part is that mounts can't fly or glide even though some of them have wings and I think that would have made exploration a lot more enjoyable and easier, especially post game when there's still over 20 hours of clean up to be done.
The double jump was horrendously bad and left me frustrated plenty of times. If you get to close to an edge when attempting to jump, it will use your second jump instead and not allow for a double jump. This was frustrating, especially in the vaults where you can't climb and it led to many deaths and getting sent back to the last checkpoint. 
The swimming was awful as well and I know, I praised the water details and said they were amazing but swimming on the surface was like a dolphin dying. Underwater worked great but then you run out of stamina quicker but out in the sea, I didn't swim and jumped my way through instead because it was that painful. 

Variation 

There was a lot of variation and it could have felt extremely fresh if the collectibles weren't milked to death. There was many different puzzles and brain teasers which really had you guessing sometimes but when there's a few hundred of them it becomes a pain to spend 10 mins on figuring out one. Some were also quick and simple and they ranged from shooting through rings to light a fire at the end, rearranging blocks to create a picture, racing from 1 point to another in a time limit and so on. But everything contained a puzzle in the end and it got painful when you needed to solve a puzzle just to open a chest. 

The mob variation was also nice and ranged from all kinds of mythical beasts to ogres, harpies, griffins, minotaur's, boars, bears, soldiers, the list goes on. But you become so overpowered in the end that it takes a couple of hits to kill most things. Sure it would take a lot more if I played on a harder difficulty but I had no incentive to gruel out an already long repetitive game by adding a difficulty spike to the mix. I'd have preferred playing on a harder difficulty and having a quarter of the collectibles. 

There's a lot of variation in the armour, weapons, phoenixes and mounts also which I liked and constantly changed what skin I had and collecting the mounts wasn't too bad and you didn't have to go out of your way for the phoenixes either but the weapons and armour, I never got all of but they were mainly cosmetic and didn't add so much more to combat. 

Combat

The combat was dull and boring by the end. You become so overpowered that everything is a couple of hits and I just used the hammer skill and dragged anything flying for a quick melee combo and I did that for every encounter as soon as I had unlocked them and every other skill didn't exist. 

The combat was fairly fluid and easy but the parry skill became pointless because a lot of mobs used attacks that couldn't be parried so it was just a lot easier to dodge attacks and be certain. 

Trophies 

The plague to an otherwise ok game. The game didn't even have you do everything and still I got burned out in the end. There's 80 official puzzles that are needed, 25 vaults, completely cleared including getting the chests, a ton of ambrosia shards to level up health, even more vaults are needed to max lightning, at least 25 guarded chests, 10 night chests, all side quests, lieutenants, legendary creatures and more and you'll still be grinding out currency to upgrade every piece of armour to max. 

My last trophy was cutting down trees for 308 golden amber in which you get 1-2 for every glowing tree and I ended up saving and reloading to make all trees spawn to lessen the pointless tediousness. 

 

The difficulty is probably a 2/10 
I had no issues with anything and nothing posed a real challenge apart from not letting myself go insane from the grind

Fun started at about a 6/10 but the never-ending collectibles left it as a 4/10 and just wanting the pain to stop 
 

Edited February 4, 2023 by Hitman_Spinksy1

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

 114

Le Platinum Trophy

Cat Quest 

 

This game surprised me on so many levels. One that I picked up for $2 on sale might I add and this is definitely up there with one of the best indie games I've played and I enjoyed every minute of it. 

The game is extremely short but was the perfect length. I was about done with the game by the end and felt it didn't have much left to offer but it didn't overstay it's welcome, drive me to madness in a never ending grind. It listened to me and said, that's enough. The story was really well written with some twists at the end that were impossible to see coming. The graphics, though simple looked really nice, the colours popped and the lines were crisp. There was a lot of cat jokes that I expected would just become a drag to listen to but they were actually funny and fit the scenarios perfectly. I can't praise this game enough and on discount is definitely worth picking up. I'd probably even pay the $10 for it even though I finished it in a day, it's just that good. 

The game progressed at an enjoyable rate through being able to walk on water and when walking across a reasonable size map back and forth started to get tiresome then flying was unlocked though I did go through the side quests a lot parallel to the main quest but, the flying ability really changed the whole game. Getting across the map was a breeze and without it the game would have dragged on so much. 

The trophies were exactly how trophies are suppose to be. Clear all dungeons, progress through the story, clear side quests, level up, obtain all skills and finish main quest. All other trophies unlocked beside them and the only trophy I went a little bit out of my way with was levelling to level 99 but there was a quick way to level. 

This game is up there with the AAA games in terms of enjoyment and doesn't stick around so long that you get sick of it. 

 

Difficulty 1/10 

Enjoyment 7/10 

 

Get this Purrfect game now!! 

Edited February 4, 2023 by Hitman_Spinksy1

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

 115

Great Protecter of Radaxian 

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX 

 

 

What I can say is never go back to retro classics you once loved unless you want to destroy that nostalgic image. I already knew the game was tough from being the first game I ever played and I can say if there wasn't any infinite lives cheat I would have never made it. I just got frustrated with the random hitboxes and the dodgy old school controls but I went back and relived a classic one last time. The game was a lot shorter than I expected as I remember spending countless hours playing this growing up but that could also be the lack of a memory card and the way games were played and repeated in the past. Brought back some nostalgia to begin with but I regret ruining the image of the game I grew up with and how a built in game into the master system was revolutionary like stumbling onto something that shouldn't be there. 

It was quite cool being able to toggle between modern and retro mode and they made it look really cool with the fresh modern look though I toggled between retro a lot to get that nostalgic kick and a look at some levels my 6 year old self never quite made it to. 

It's worth giving a shot if you have nostalgia growing up with this game otherwise it's quite a bad game that doesn't hold up against other side scrollers and the only work done is through the modern graphics and colours. The controls are clunky and make the game frustrating as hell. 

 

Fun - 5/10 for nostalgic reasons 

Difficulty - 3/10 without infinite lives probably would be closer to an 8/10 

Edited February 4, 2023 by Hitman_Spinksy1

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

 116 

Noble Achievement 

inFamous First Light 

The story is some goth teen with "neon"? super powers. I don't understand the gimmick but hey ho. This teen is an ex junky and her brother has always protected her and kept her safe. Her brother ends up getting kidnapped and she is forced to help the kidnappee in order for him to remain safe and hopefully be let free. 

There's not much else to say about the story without spoiling the entire thing and it had a good base but it chose not to go with it and just be something quick in possibly wrapping up the whole inFamous series perhaps. 

There isn't so much to say about this game. I do wonder if it would have been better to play straight after second son and treated more as a DLC or continuum of the main game but as a standalone game it doesn't hold up unfortunately. The story is extremely short and most of the game is in the arena doing easy enough challenges for no reason and getting collectibles, again for no reason as the story is over before it starts. It was an ok game to burn some time and break my bigger games up but I don't really see the point in the game and why it wasn't a DLC. 

 The graphics are meh at best and I feel that the first inFamous even looked better. The camera angel was awful when speeding around and would often get caught under bridges and create a lot of dark spots making it hard to see. This was even more noticeable in the arena when speeding to try and create space. 

There's not really much more to say about the game apart from that it didn't compliment the series in any way and I'm glad I resisted the urge to try and complete the series sooner by buying it and took advantage of my PS+ instead. 

 

Difficulty 2/10 

Enjoyment 4/10 

Edited February 4, 2023 by Hitman_Spinksy1

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

My time with Metro is nearly at an end thank god and I'm at a crossroads on what to play next. It feels like I've already played way to many mediocre games this year from both my backlog and PS Plus backlog so I've made a poll and handing the power over to you. I will complete the game alongside my forever grind of Final Fantasy XIII. 

What game should I play, is there a game you enjoyed that I'd be crazy to miss out on. Well now's your chance and then you get to read my review after, YAY! 

 

https://strawpoll.com/polls/40ZmqdR72Za 

 

I will also be putting the poll on the main page so get voting. Polls are open until the last of February 

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

 117

Platinum Trophy

Metro Exodus (PS5)

 

One thing for certain is his name is Artyom. This is drilled into your skull to the point you'll never forget his name and if you're so lucky to forget his name for even a second it will be reminded for you over and over again until you're dreaming it. 

 

Story 

The game is set in a post apocalyptic world where the only survivors are those hiding in the metro, or is it? Artyom cannot believe this truth and spends his days looking for life outside the metro, pissing everyone off as he comes back irradiated time after time searching for his dream until one day a sign of life appears. Filled with conspiracies and cover ups hiding the truth but as the story plunges deeper it slowly becomes obvious there's a whole world out there full of people, even places with no radiation at all. Fighting through bandits, mutants, spiders, cannibals and other oddly worldly creatures to get to this haven, if it even exists. Whenever there's hope that we are close to finding a new place to live, it ends up overrun, uninhabitable, deserted. Will they ever find peace, no mutants, no radiation, a society, a place to call home? One thing is for sure, there's no going back to the metro. 

 

The story is 10/10 with a real solid storyline for both the good and bad endings filled with twists, conspiracies and unseen outcomes. The goal is clear from the start and it doesn't stray one bit. The end is even emotional where you just make it but are left fighting for your life. The way you play the game and the choices you make matter and change the whole outcome of the game. Some parts of the story are better than others but you can feel the tension in the air, the desperation and how little time there is left. The crew fall weaker by the minute and the question is even put "Do you wish we never set out to find this new haven" and you're left answering for Artyom, yes. Is all the struggle really worth it, all the pain and suffering caused, sometimes by yourself. It's got me interested in purchasing the book in the future that's for sure. 

 

Gameplay

This is where the game starts to fall short unfortunately. The game is so clunky it's unreal. From firing arrows that hit invisible walls, putting your mask on and taking it off constantly, the driving is atrocious and thank god there's only one chapter with a vehicle which is so bad I could write an entire chapter of how bad it is on its own. Reversing is basically impossible because you can't look behind, going uphill is painfully slow, even driving forward your vision is so limited you can barely see what you're doing. Rowing in the boat is also an extremely painful experience where you barely move, have zero turning circle and mutants jumping out spitting gunk at you all the time. Auto aim was a bit iffy also and the sensitivity was like turning a truck when trying the aim and shoot. The map is also really bad where you can't put markers on it so you're only option is to keep checking it to make sure you're going in the right direction, otherwise the compass will just point to the main objection. This is where the open world failed for me and made it so much more tedious than it had to be and thankfully there are only two chapters that are open world. I wasn't a fan of the dialog either finding it quite painful to hear "Oh Artyom I was so worried about you" all the time or Artyom this, Artyom that on top of bad grammar and sometimes wrong emotions for the scene made me lose a bit of immersion. 

 

The good things about the gameplay that I liked was the small details from wiping your mask when water splashed up, to holding your breath when entering a radiated area, spiders crawling over you when covered in cobwebs which was just creepy and gave me the chills. I also liked the enclosed levels a lot more, going through the metro from A to B, needing your flashlight and things jumping out at you in the dark really played on that dark atmosphere and this is where the game excelled best. Apart from this I can't think of many other positives. I read the jankiness is what makes the game good but for me it just held it back in every way possible. 

 

Trophies 

Oh the trophies were so painful, requires 2 playthroughs minimum if you don't mess up the good ending that is. I ended up doing it in 3 because I didn't get full strength first time around even though I didn't kill anyone in chapter 3. In the end I cheesed the Ranger Hardcore difficulty because I was long done with the game and just wanted to brute force my way through for the bad ending in the end. There are a few collectibles which needs a guide for unfortunately but can be picked up on further playthroughs which I did after missing two myself. Other than that it's just the full strength trophy that can make this platinum really grueling forcing another good playthrough, the rest of the trophies I picked up along the way just from playing the game as intended and didn't need to go too much out of my way for anything. 

 

Rating 

It's hard for me to rate this game to be fair as survival/stealth/horror shooters are not really a genre I play. I wasn't a fan of the game but the story was solid, it captured on the survival/horror aspect without feeling like everything was effort, but it fell short in quite a few areas as well. 

 

Difficulty 4/10 

Fun 4/10

 

In the end it wasn't a game that worked for me but I gave it a shot and stuck it out until the end  

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

And the votes are in and final

Kingdom Hearts - 6

Assassin's Creed - 5

Warhammer: Chaosbane / Fallout 3 - 2

 

Those are the top 3 and appreciate everyone voting so on with Kingdom Hearts for my next game alongside FF XIII

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

 118 

Ultimate Hero 

Final Fantasy XIII 

 

I finally done it after 9 years 7 months and I can say I was wrong (partially). I could feel myself hyped to play it and it was a lot better the second time around than when I originally played it. The game holds up a lot better than some games from the past but the grind at the end did eventually suck the life out of me and make me question why I trophy hunt and I would have probably dropped it if it wasn't Final Fantasy. I still enjoyed my experience a lot more than I expected. 

 

Story

The story is full of twists and ups and downs that lead you on a rollercoaster of thoughts and feelings. All starting with the "Purge". A mass genocide as a Pulsian fal'Cie found it's way in a nearby town of Bodhum. What was meant to be a forced migration to Gran Pulse, became soon clear of the real motives as Lightning and Sazh stop the train. Snow, a member of a rebel group NORA is fighting off the PSICOM who has the same goal as Lightning, to rescue Serah, his fiancé and also Lightnings sister. 

Hope and Vanille get caught between the fighting when Hope's mum joins the resistance and dies under Snows care. Hope vows revenge against Snow and holds him responsible for his mothers death. 

The end up finding Serah as the five group up for the first time but as they find her she turns to crystal, fulfilling her focus leaving them with her last words, "Save Cocoon" as she cries her last tear that turns to crystal. 

 Lightning, Snow and Sazh face Anima, the fal'Cie responsible for Serah's fate and upon defeating Anima, everyone has the same vision of their Focus. To call upon Ragnarok to destroy Cocoon, only Snow refuses to believe it claiming it was Serahs wish to save Cocoon. 

 

The story is so jam packed with information that it's hard to keep up with what's happening and what the plot is. It switches between parties throughout most of the game, occasionally meeting up in between chapters. I really enjoyed the story but I didn't like that the party was split up and I don't feel like it did enough to strengthen the story whilst it impacted on other parts of the game a lot more. I'd give the story a 7/10. It was fairly solid when understanding everything but with it being split up between parties and the rushed feeling near the end causes it to lose a few points. 

 

Gameplay

The gameplay was filled with mixed feelings. It started really slow and extremely linear, forcing parties onto you and leveling restrictions throughout most of the game. When the game did open up and allow all party members to join the fray then the game was soon over. Having played the game all the way through once before up to the point of post game I rushed through the story skipping the cut scenes and that actually helped the game because I didn't get caught up in the parts I wasn't enjoying so much. 

 The only good thing about the game opening up so close to the end was I still had a lot of hype going into the post game which helped me pull through it, even if I was struggling by the end

 The battle system is new called the Paradigm system and I liked the concept but not so much the execution. Following an ATB gauge and different roles you can swap between when needed it didn't work so good in practice. Most enemies just required a basic attack role for the party and occasionally a medic, it became a spam X to win as health restores after each battle. The harder battles that did require switching between roles was just frustrating, sometimes having to watch each individual member switch costing precious time, other times they switched instantly and it could make a battle become messy quick switching every second between buffing, debuffing, healing, attacking, defending and it didn't work as good as it could have. 

 

Trophies

These were some awful trophies and can see the difference clearly between older games and games nowadays. The story took me about 40 Hours to finish and I was done with the game after 130 Hours. Maybe 10 of those were idle but still 3x the story just to get the plat is quite painful. The Treasure Hunter being the worst trophy and serving no purpose at all. Having to hold every weapon and accessory in the game required serious farming of Adamantoises to get the money to upgrade everything which I done for a few hours a week, always thinking I was close and I'd be done the next day but Rng was not in my favour at all until the end when I needed Dark Matter for the last few pieces and got 3 in a row. 

The other grind was doing every mission to a 5 star rating which ended up doing most a second time once the gold watch was acquired. These were fairly simple with only 2 the gave me a little bit of trouble with mission 64 needing 3 attempts and 54 was pure Rng. 

 

Rating 

6/10 Is what I would rate the game. I did enjoy it a lot but the post game grind, choppy story and unfunctional battle system pulls the game down. 

5/10 Difficulty. It's not a hard game but it's far from easy, requiring dedication and being a complicated list keeping track of all the weapons and accessories and some of the 5 star missions were a bit tricky. 

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

 119 

Master Assassin

Assassin's Creed II 

 

It was actually a lot better than I had anticipated and a better experience than other Assassin's Creed games I've played. The grind was a lot less and I preferred the semi-open world than other titles that open up a little more. This was a good balance where they haven't tried to stretch the game too much with a lot of pointless stuff apart from the feathers and glyphs but even that didn't take too long. 

Story

The story follows would be assassin Ezio Auditore who witness's part of his family hung and has to escape the city with his mother and sister. He finds refuge with his uncle in where he learns the truth about his father and instead of escaping he returns with a new purpose to finish what his father started and get his revenge in the process. Travelling through Italy as he knocks tyrants of their perches, no one is safe as he hunts down the Templars and learns more about how deep everything goes. 

The story was decent and not too short but not too long either. It had enough depth to keep ones interest but it could have done a lot more. 

 

Gameplay

The gameplay was really rough and it didn't hold up so well, even as a PS3 game it was lacking so I was a little disappointed with the clunkiness on the PS4 version. The free running was rather poor and hard to control where to jump which made some of the tombs a bit annoying. There was way too many people running around which just made getting about a hassle, going both roof alerted the guards and going on the ground also alerted the guards because always one of them of another npc would crash into you, tripping you up etc. I wasn't a fan of the guards on the roof because they were everywhere and in the end I preferred being tripped by everyone than running from guards constantly. 

The combat was very basic where you could just block and counter everything and assassinate everyone from behind if you had a group with you. 

 

Trophies 

The trophies were basic story trophies with a few combat and collectibles. It was a really easy list with the feathers and glyphs being the only grind and they weren't even that bad. Not much more to say about the trophies. One was missable but very easy to get if you know about it. 

 

Rating 

Difficulty 2/10 

Enjoyment 6/10  

Edited March 11, 2023 by Hitman_Spinksy1

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

 120

Platinum Guardian

Lost Words: Beyond the Page

 

I had a really fun time playing this even though it was short the story was deep and it definitely hit the feelings. The story had a lot of depth and was relatable. A game that was just meant to break up some big games whilst I try and figure out what to play next became something I really enjoyed. 

 

Story 

The story is about a girl who has a really close relationship with their gran and wants to become a writer. They write all their thoughts in a journal and begin writing a story alongside it. Their gran has a stroke and they aspire to finish their story so that their gran can read it. The story alongside their real life is about a young girl who becomes the guardian of fireflies and their village is destroyed by a dragon and the fireflies become scattered. They set out to hunt down the dragon and obtain the fireflies so they can fix their village to be how it use to be. Both stories touch on how change is inevitable whilst also touching on a wide range of emotions that are symmetrical to how they feel in real life and is done really well. It also shows what a child may go through when dealing with loss and the thoughts they may have. It really blew me away how it allowed me to feel with the character and really invest in the story 

 

Gameplay

The gameplay was really simple with a book of spells that unlock as you progress through the story and is basically the story that draws a person in. Apart from that it's to just follow the path as a side scroller with very basic inputs as jumping or casting spells which are easy to figure out which one to use. 

 

Trophies

The trophies are really simple with minor collectibles that are fairly easy to find and a guide is not necessary. Some other miscellaneous trophies but all in all it's a really simple list. 

 

Rating 

Difficulty 1/10

Enjoyment 8/10

 

Edited March 11, 2023 by Hitman_Spinksy1

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

 121

Innocence

A Plague Tale: Innocence

It wasn't my kind of game, basically stealthing through the entire game whilst having your little brother hanging onto your arm nearly constantly. The dialog was cringy at best and the mechanics basic. A few collectibles but nothing major and thankfully had chapter select to clean up anything missed. The story got a bit out of hand near the end and went from something that had that serious setting to something rather ridiculous and I felt it ruined a lot of what the game had built upon. I actually bought the game for my wife and after she tested it a bit she said it was decent so we decided to play it together and agreed after a few chapters it wasn't either of our taste, leaving it on my profile to clean up so I'm rather happy to have been done with this and that it was rather short. 

Story

The story is based upon a teenage girl and her sick brother. Their dad killed by the inquisition who are after the little boys blood. They fight through a plague ridden France as they try to find a cure for the boy and also get revenge for their dads murder. The inquisition on their tale the whole time as they try and shake them off, sneaking their way past as they pick up companions along the way who have their own reasons for revenge. 

Mechanics

There isn't much in the terms of mechanics. The game is based upon sneaking past everyone to the next objective, aimed with nothing more than a sling, some rocks and a few concoctions to make it a little easier. Then it's up to the player how they wish to tackle each situation. Sometimes it's best to sneak and other times it's easier to kill the soldiers. If you get caught then you die but the restart area is usually close to where you die so you can approach the situation with different tactics. There are a few minor puzzles in how to get past soldiers and how to get passed rats which are afraid of fire. 

Graphics 

The graphics are really stunning and definitely the highpoint of the game. You really feel like you're walking through a plague infested country and how bloody and brutal it could be. Definitely a 10/10 for the design and artwork. 

Summary 

Very linear game with fairly annoying characters. I can't say there was one character that was even half likeable. Basic mechanics and just sneaking from start to finish left a lot to desire. 

 

Enjoyment 

3/10

Difficulty 

2/10

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

 122

The N. Trepid Crash Bandicoot!

Crash Bandicoot

Such a classic game that brought back a lot of memories. I forgot just how tough the game was but mainly because I never went for the relics in the past. It was difficult and challenging and I took three stabs at it quitting first time around at the infamous "High Road". That level made me want to jump off a cliff myself. apart from that level the others weren't too bad compared to the others in the trilogy. It required more precision and I learnt playing these that I have zero depth perception but without the slide, double jump, slide spin etc it made the relics a lot easier. Especially on the riding levels or running away ones. 

I did give up on the Stormy ascent after maybe an hour deciding it wasn't worth the headache but I may return to it if I ever decide to go for Crash 4. 

There isn't really much more to say apart from that it is a really fun game and I enjoyed nearly every minute despite it's flaws and happy that I can relive a childhood classic and appreciate it more. 

 

Enjoyment 9/10

Difficulty 7/10

[Taruta13]

On 11/8/2022 at 9:31 PM, Hitman_Spinksy1 said:

I am a massive Final Fantasy fan and plan on completing all of them in the end

Well, good luck on that quest! After 12 and 14, I intend to stop on Final Fantasy, because I don't like the look of any of the other titles. I'd only consider X-2, and that is dragged down by the Mystery Dungeon section, even though I did enjoy Pokemon Mystery Dungeon in its heyday.

[Taruta13]

On 11/23/2022 at 3:45 PM, Hitman_Spinksy1 said:

They have zero meaning to the story apart from occasionally Sonic disappears and it's up to the "rookie" that no one ever believes in though no one else seems all too busy to help but instead wants to keep putting the rookie down but they all jump to help their favourite blue hedgehog whose ego is so big he can do everything by himself.

 

Hey, you know, that poor anthromorphic animal avatar needs a flyer to the Hall of Doom to join DC Super Villains' crew and be taken under that Rookie's wing. Seriously, SEGA just didn't want to make a game with a customizable character but did it because the fans were begging for it and then made it so f'king bad that it got trashed for Sonic Frontiers so that the blue blur could get more infamy. I really do not plan on supporting Sonic the Hedgehog, let the damn mammal die. And yes, I am sad to trash Sonic because he was a cool character and is my favorite color, but when SEGA uses him to try to one-up Mario, I am so sad.

 

Especially since I was planning on buying Sonic Frontiers. Not anymore.

Edited March 25, 2023 by Taruta13

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

 123

Earn Them All!

Assassin's Creed Origins

Where to start, the game looks absolutely stunning and such a massive difference jumping from Assassin's Creed II to this in every way. This really brings ancient Egypt to life with pyramids, Romans, bustling cities, croc infested swamps, chariot races, it really is jam packed with just about everything. I really enjoyed the freedom this game had that I felt previous titles I've played lacked for example being able to climb up buildings and jump across roofs without an army chasing me but I also found myself using this freedom less as the buildings were so big and spaced apart. I liked the variety of transport from chariots, horses, camels and boats though I did feel that land transport was rather slow when getting from point A to B felt like effort at times when the distance was so big. All in all it was a solid game but definitely overstayed it's welcome and dragged on far too long. 

Story 

The story follows Bayek a Medjay that searches revenge for his sons death. His path unravels a group called the order that influences Egypt. Overthrowing the pharaoh, allowing Cleopatra to take the throne. After Cleopatra takes the throne she cuts ties with Bayek, no longer needing him as her and Caesar align themselves with the order. Bayek forms his own brotherhood to counter the order and kills the man responsible for the death of his son. His wife heads to Rome to finish the last members Septimius and joined the conspiracy of Brutus to assassinate Caesar. She leaves a final message to Cleopatra to be a fair ruler, otherwise she will return for her. 

Mechanics 

The mechanics of the game worked really well and felt fresh. You could choose how to tackle any situation from being stealthy and assassinating everyone without being seen to going head first on a horse and slicing everyone down in your path. From bows, scythes, swords, dual swords, spears and more there is a variety in the combat but it also stales fairly fast once you find a preferred method. In the head I just charged in slicing everything because it was the quickest way and being stealthy paid no reward. There is also a levelling system that worked rather well allowing for upgrades the further you progress and it was simple to understand. Transport worked decently enough though fairly slow and the horse could be clunky at times chucking you off an unseeable cliff but then struggling to get down small rocks. The platforming felt a lot smoother and didn't feel as sticky as previous titles but the lack of places where running across and up buildings was beneficial felt rather disappointing. Exploring tombs and pyramids with a torch worked really well and extremely happy they didn't fill it up with loads of combat at the same time and just allowed the change of pace to work for it's intentions. 

Graphics 

The game was just gorgeous and could easily pass as a PS5 game, the golden sand, the blazing heat and the waves in the air whilst trekking through the desert. From bustling cities to mud filled swamps. Scorching deserts, to canyons. The game really fills in as much detail as possible and done a really excellent job. It's a game that will hold up for a really long time, that's for sure. 

Summary

The story was fairly mediocre and the purpose of the mission was lost at times and I feel the incorporation of fact meeting fiction wasn't the smoothest. The combat got stale quickly and the saving grace was the scenery and how amazing the game looked. The map was huge with certain spots being nowhere near a fast travel spot, there was no way of keeping track of collectibles apart from hope and scouring the map a few times zoomed in, and there are a lot of collectibles with I believe over 400 and the game asks you to do them all which was a grind that killed me. Especially after thinking I'd got them all and the final trophy didn't pop and I had to resort to turning my brightness down and search the map a good few times for the last couple. 

All in all it's a decent game but overstayed it's welcome and soured my experience 

 

Enjoyment 5/10 

Difficulty 2/10 

Edited March 25, 2023 by Hitman_Spinksy1